Meet-ups of drivers who rev engines excessively loud and perform stunts like doughnuts are banned from the City of Westminster
Dangerous car meets, where antisocial drivers often perform ‘burnouts’ and ‘doughnuts’, have officially been banned in parts of Central London.
The High Court ruling on Friday (June 19) prohibits motorists from racing, performing stunts and organising meet-ups in areas such as Knightsbridge and Belgravia, St James, Hyde Park and the West End.
Car meets have caused repeated disruption for residents and businesses in the area, especially late at night. Hotspots including Exhibition Road, Pall Mall and parts of Soho which have seen regular gatherings of drivers, creating complaints of noise and dangerous stunts involving modified cars.
Westminster City Council applied for a borough-wide injunction to crack down on antisocial car meets and dangerous driving stunts in April this year.
The application was submitted following repeated concerns about the impacts on local neighbourhoods. In addition to legal measures, the council is planning physical deterrents, such as installing anti-skid road surfaces in popular gathering spots like Exhibition Road.
Councillor Rachel Robathan, a Conservative representative for Knightsbridge and Belgravia and former council leader, has been pushing for more action to tackle the issue. She has welcomed the news of the injunction on the car meet-ups in her ward.
She told the LDRS: “I am delighted that, working with the police, we have finally secured this injunction which makes car meets illegal and gives the police the powers to arrest. These highly dangerous and disruptive stunts and road races have plagued my residents in Knightsbridge, as well as other areas covered in the injunction, for years so I hope that we can now finally end this for good.”
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Cllr Caroline Sargent, said the ruling “sends a clear message to those involved”.
“Antisocial driving is incredibly dangerous, and we do not want it in Westminster. This ruling is a fantastic result for the council and its partners which will make our streets safer whilst offering residents respite from the excessive noise,” she said.
Following this decision, anyone who breaches the injunction could face large fines or seizure of their vehicles for excessively revving their engines or driving dangerously.
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